No. 1 Priority Top-ranked Miami's close call against Florida State lifted the national title hopes of the other contenders--so who has the best shot at dethroning the Hurricanes?

There are no excuses on Shakeout Saturday, no what-ifs oryeah-buts or moral victories. At the midpoint of the collegefootball season, with the stakes jacked up and the first BCSrankings a week away, seven teams remained unbeaten and ranked inthe Top 10 of the Associated Press poll. Fate was tempted at theOrange Bowl in Miami and character tested at the Red RiverShootout in Dallas, with familiar results: Florida State founditself consoling its kicker, and Texas was left to ponder how itshopes had been dashed by Oklahoma. When the smoke had cleared,however, one team still looked better than the rest.

Which is not to say that Miami didn't come away from its 28-27victory over Florida State badly bruised. After watching theHurricanes blow through the first five games on their schedule,we'd begun to think of the defending national champions asunbeatable, indomitable, head and shoulders above the rabble ofcollege football. But after last Saturday, after they had tofight their way back from a 27-14 fourth-quarter deficit...."They ain't head and shoulders above nothing," said Seminolesdefensive end Alonzo Jackson, spitting the last word. "They bleedjust like everybody else--and today they should've died."

What ought to have been terminated, Alonzo was suggesting (wehope), was not the Hurricanes themselves but theirbest-in-the-nation winning streak. That run was extended to 28games, dating to September 2000, only after Florida State's19-year-old kicker, Xavier Beitia, sailed his 43-yard field goalattempt a few feet outside the left upright as time expired inthe Orange Bowl. Beitia, last seen sobbing in the arms of theteam chaplain, shouldn't be so tough on himself--the snap was lowand the hold was unsteady. The kid had to kick the laces.

His teammates could only kick themselves for letting Miami backinto a game that the Seminoles, now 5-2 and out of the hunt forthe national title, had dominated. More shocking than the factthat Florida State had the big lead late was the way it had builtit: by running the ball down the Hurricanes' throats. In additionto providing the country with a crackling good game, theSeminoles provided future Miami opponents with a template for howto compete with the Hurricanes: Run the ball, and stop their run.

Yes, that was Florida State tailback Greg Jones rushing 31 timesfor 189 yards against a defensive line often celebrated as thenation's finest, a 10-deep unit stocked with such future pros astackles William Joseph and Vince Wilfork and end Jerome McDougle.Running back Nick Maddox, the water bug to Jones's wrecking ball,added 74 yards on the ground. "We were able to run the ball soeffectively that it wore down their pass rushers," said seniortackle Brett Williams. "That's the key to beating the Hurricanes.You've just got to come down here and run the ball on them."

Now salivating at that prospect are the Hokies of Virginia Tech,a team whose signature strengths are--wouldn't you know it?--apounding ground game and a smothering defense. The third-rankedHokies visit the Orange Bowl on Dec. 7 and are likely to beundefeated when they arrive. Are McDougle & Co. up to thechallenge? "They weren't any better than Louisville up front,"said Williams, comparing the Miami defense with that of the otherteam the Seminoles lost to this season. "We basically didwhatever we wanted."

That's right, pile on. Take your best shot. This sort of smackwas the inevitable fallout from a game that exposed theHurricanes as mortal. Here's what Florida State defensive tackleDarnell Dockett had to say about Miami's offensive line: "Not asgood as everyone thinks." The Hurricanes are overly reliant ondouble teams, said Dockett. "When it's a one-on-one block,they're not that good--and they hold."

Yes, Willis McGahee's 68-yard run with a screen pass set up thewinning touchdown for Miami. On the whole, however, the sophomorerunning back had a long day at the office: 95 tough yards on 26carries. It was the Seminoles' audacious game plan, as it is nowlikely to be Virginia Tech's, to force senior quarterback KenDorsey to beat them with his arm. Dorsey did--completing four ofsix passes for 126 yards and a touchdown on the last two scoringdrives--but just barely. Hurrying and hitting him on virtuallyevery pass play, Florida State forced Dorsey into his worstperformance in more than two years, one that included a pair ofinterceptions that were very much his fault and several wobblingthrows unbecoming a Heisman Trophy candidate.

He had plenty of help putting his team in a hole. The Hurricanescommitted 14 penalties, including four offsides and afourth-quarter unsportsmanlike conduct that could easily havecost them the game. "We played hard," said defensive line coachGreg Mark. "We just didn't play very smart. We'll get thingsfixed. If Virginia Tech wants to come down here and run the ballagainst us, bring it on. We'll take that all day."

At a restaurant two nights earlier, a reporter had bid Markgoodbye and wished him good luck on Saturday. "Luck's got nothingto do with it," Mark said. "You make your own luck." After apause he added, "On the other hand, I wouldn't want to piss offthe luck gods. So, thanks."

Last Saturday's revelations aside, it won't be surprising to seeMiami in the Fiesta Bowl on Jan. 3. What's astonishing is thatthe Hurricanes will have needed the luck gods to get there.Here's what else was learned on Shakeout Saturday.

BEAMERBALL WILL GIVE MIAMI FITS

Don't begrudge Virginia Tech its favorable schedule leading upto Dec. 7 (the only road game, at Syracuse, seems less dauntingin the wake of the Orangemen's loss last Saturday to...Temple),because the Hokies earned a breather. This season coach FrankBeamer's nonconference foes were not the usual cavalcade ofcream puffs. Gone were the likes of Akron, Connecticut and JamesMadison, replaced by LSU, Marshall and, on the road, TexasA&M--all Top 25 teams at the time. Playing the higher-caliberopponents, and beating them, presumably has hardened VirginiaTech for its showdown with Miami. (The teams have split theirlast four games.)

More important, Virginia Tech has the thunder-and-lightningbackfield tandem of senior Lee Suggs and sophomore Kevin Jones,who are better than Florida State's pair. In the Hokies' 28-23win over Boston College last Thursday night, Suggs and Jonescombined for 298 yards rushing.

Like the Seminoles, Virginia Tech intimidates opponents with anattacking 4-3 defense stocked with players who rely on speed morethan size. If you believe Florida State's Dockett, who says theHurricanes aren't always effective in one-on-one blockingschemes, Miami will have to double-team the Hokies' Cols Colas,an undersized (6 feet, 239 pounds) yet quicksilver end who's toofast for one offensive tackle to contain.

Even though Virginia Tech yielded a season-high 298 return yardsto Boston College, one of the tenets of Beamerball, as thecoach's style of play is known around Blacksburg, is aggressivespecial teams play. Specifically, the Hokies are adept atblocking kicks, and that's where they may find another chink inthe Hurricanes' armor. Miami long snapper Joe Fantigrassi wasrecently replaced by former walk-on Chris Harvey, whose finalsnap against Florida State forced punter Freddie Capshaw to takea step to the right. A flustered Capshaw got off a three-yardshank that gave the Seminoles the ball at midfield with 2:05 toplay. The Hurricanes survived only because their opponentextended its own history of kicking mishaps.

"The only area I thought Miami might be a little vulnerable inwas the punting game," said Connecticut coach Randy Edsall afterhis team lost to the Hurricanes 48-14 on Oct. 5. "The problemwas, we couldn't get them to punt until the fourth quarter." Atwhich point the Huskies blocked Miami's punt and ran it back fora touchdown. Virginia Tech's defense will force the Hurricanes tokick earlier, and more often.

OKLAHOMA'S FORTUNES ARE IN THE HANDS OF A SHAKY QUARTERBACK

This much we knew going into last Saturday: The Sooners areloaded on defense, stocked with speedy playmakers who live forhigh-pressure moments. What we didn't know was whether Oklahomahad enough offensive oomph to get to the Fiesta Bowl. Coach BobStoops's off-season hiring of former Northwestern offensivecoordinator Kevin Wilson was supposed to rejuvenate the team'srushing attack, which averaged 119.4 yards per game last season,89th in the nation.

While Wilson's charges showed an impressive array of newformations in the first five wins of the season, the ground gameremained erratic. A 378-yard rushing day against Tulsa was offsetby a minus-23-yard performance against Alabama. Oklahoma followedup a 215-yard effort against UTEP with 45 yards against SouthFlorida. Asked if he thought the Sooners could beat Miami, SouthFlorida coach Jim Leavitt said, "All they need to do is figureout a way to run the ball."

Just in time for their biggest game of the season, against Texas,the Sooners came up with what appeared to be a successfulformula. A few tweaks, including motion from tight end TrentSmith and several well-executed draws to senior tailback QuentinGriffin, were the difference in the 35-24 victory. At 5'7",Griffin can be difficult for opposing defenders to see, and hesqueezed between and darted around the Longhorns for 248 yardsand two touchdowns. But the tough little senior, who hails,aptly, from Humble, Texas, steadfastly refused to be drawn into adiscussion of his heroics. "The only thing you'll hear from Q,"said left guard Brad Davis, "is some heavy breathing in thehuddle. In games like this, his play speaks for itself."

While Griffin shone, Oklahoma senior quarterback Nate Hyblrevealed his potential to unravel under big-game pressure. Havingaveraged a respectable 256.4 passing yards per game through histeam's first five wins, Hybl completed 12 of 29 passes for 131yards on Saturday. The performance reminded fans of his dreadfulplay in last year's upset loss to Oklahoma State--and explainedwhy he entered this season as a backup to junior Jason White(who's out for the season with a knee injury he suffered againstAlabama on Sept. 7).

Going into the Red River Shootout, Hybl had thrown 148 passeswithout an interception. He had four picked off by Texas,including one that corner Rod Babers returned for a 73-yardtouchdown. "My footwork and decision-making were totally off,"Hybl said. "Kind of in spite of me, our guys excelled. It was agreat game plan; I just didn't execute my part very well."

With a dominant defense, a newfound running game and the edgyplay-calling of Stoops, the Sooners should be able to handle thelesser teams remaining on their schedule. But unless Hyblrecovers what had been, to this point, his best quality--notmaking major mistakes--some team better than Texas (maybe evenIowa State this Saturday) will come along and make Oklahoma pay."Hybl's a good thrower," said Texas defensive coordinator CarlReese, "but since we never got him to the point where he had towin the game for them, it remains to be seen whether he canperform when he has to."

NO PAC-10 TEAM WILL PLAY IN THE FIESTA BOWL

What's not to love about the Pac-10? You've got the San GabrielMountains framing the Rose Bowl, with Keith Jackson calling theaction. You've got the USC song girls in those white sweatersthat don't quite cover their midriffs. You've got the bestquarterbacks in the country putting on the most impressiveaerial exhibitions.

What you don't have is a team with a hailstone's chance in hellof getting to the national championship game. Yes, that includesNo. 7 Oregon, whose 31-30 win over UCLA last Saturday was atypical Ducks-Bruins offensive orgy: eight touchdowns and 860yards of offense. In a nutshell, that's why the Pac-10 is soentertaining, and also why it has not had a team win an outrightnational title since Southern Cal in 1972. Tough defense is theexception in this conference (Washington's Steve Emtman-ledPurple Reign in 1991 was one of the last dominating units) butone of the requirements for winning it all.

It's not so much that Pac-10 teams beat each other up, althoughplenty of that goes on. It's that they knock each other off. In aconference fueled by high-octane offense, even its more talentedmembers seldom make it through the league schedule unscathed.(Congratulations, Cal, on your recent 34-27 upset of Washington,your first win over the Huskies in 26 years.)

The 10 teams all recruit the same pool of West Coast talent. Noneof them land enough blue-chippers to pull away from the pack andbuild a dynasty, as USC did in the late '60s and early '70s,before scholarship limitations were put in place by the NCAA.Lately Oregon has been the class of the league, as UCLA coach BobToledo graciously acknowledged not long ago. "It's a credit tothem," he said, "and the best owner in college football, PhilKnight."

Still, despite having the Nike chairman as their chiefbenefactor, the Ducks have some flies on them. Their defenseallowed 477 yards on Saturday. Think Miami might be able to movethe ball on them?

EVEN GEORGIA, OHIO STATE AND NOTRE DAME ARE SURPRISED THEY'RESTILL IN THE MIX

Out of nowhere, in coach Mark Richt's second season in Athens,fifth-ranked Georgia has emerged as the best team in the SEC.Last Saturday's 18-13 win over reeling Tennessee gave theBulldogs back-to-back wins over ranked opponents for the firsttime in 11 years. In their previous game the Dawgs beat Alabama27-25 despite the prediction of former Auburn coach Pat Dye thatthey weren't "man enough" for the job. Dye's remark, followed byGeorgia's proving him wrong, gave rise to a briskly sellingT-shirt bearing the legend MAN ENOUGH, DAWG ENOUGH.

After clock-management fiascos cost him a pair of games lastseason, Richt is clearly growing into his first college headcoaching job. Hired away from Florida State, where he spent 10years, first as quarterbacks coach and then as offensivecoordinator, Richt knows from championship-caliber football. Thatmeans he recognizes that his offense still has a few bugs to workout. While quarterback David Greene is the triggerman for apotent passing attack, the Bulldogs' rushing game is ranked 11thin the SEC. The defense, on the other hand, is rock solid. Whileit's unlikely that Georgia will run the table, win the conferencetitle game and get to the Fiesta Bowl, keep an eye on the Dawgsanyway.

In the unpredictable and underwhelming Big Ten, where the bestplayer (wideout Charles Rogers) plays on one of the worst teams(Michigan State) and where the defensive backs aren't the onlyones with closing speed (did you see Joe Paterno run down thatzebra after Penn State's loss to Iowa on Sept. 28?),fourth-ranked Ohio State is as close to a sure thing as there is.True, the Buckeyes barely beat Cincinnati and struggled with anatrocious Northwestern team, but they found ways to win thosegames. Optimists in the Ohio State camp interpret their club's50-7 dismantling of San Jose State last Saturday as a sign thatcoach Jim Tressel's offense is finally hitting on all cylinders.Tressel, who paces the Buckeyes' sideline in his trademarksweater vest, has been pleased by how quickly sophomorequarterback Craig Krenzel has picked up the offense, whichrequires him to make quick reads and adjustments at the line ofscrimmage. Against San Jose State, Krenzel completed 11 of 14passes for 241 yards and three touchdowns.

If Krenzel has been a pleasant surprise, freshman tailbackMaurice Clarett has been an out-and-out shock. Even with teamscrowding eight in the box to stop him, the Warren, Ohio, nativehas averaged 141 rushing yards per game and scored 13 touchdowns,tops in the Big Ten in both categories. Clarett may not stickaround Columbus for four years, but the man in the sweater vestappears to be on board for the long haul.

In the movie Rudy the title character is carried off the fieldafter his moment of glory. The Fighting Irish's 2002 season willnot have a Hollywood ending. Newcomer Tyrone Willingham is adeserving national coach of the year candidate, but a verylimited offense all but ensures him a loss or two. The Irish rank113th of 117 in total offense, and former option quarterbackCarlyle Holiday has proved a rough fit for Willingham's WestCoast offense, having completed just 49.0% of his attempts andthrown only two touchdown passes. The Irish's defense (third bestin the nation in points allowed, at 11.7) and special teams havecombined for 68 of Notre Dame's 137 points. Somewhere down theroad--maybe in the thin air of Colorado Springs on Saturdayagainst Air Force; maybe the following weekend at FloridaState--the Irish will run into a team that they can't keep up withon the scoreboard.

So where does all this leave us? Outside the locker room of theCotton Bowl, with the fairgrounds looming behind. Davis,Oklahoma's left guard, was all smiles as he made his way througha crowd of reporters. He was extra happy, he said, because Miamihad lost to Florida State. Informed that that was not the case,his smile disappeared. "Are you serious?" he said. "Someone toldus before we ran out on the field that they were about to lose,and we assumed they had."

Nope. Halfway through the season, though they may be lookingshakier, the Hurricanes are still undefeated, still the team tobeat.

Who will play for the national championship in the Fiesta Bowl onJan. 3? Miami and Oklahoma have the inside track, but with majorhurdles remaining on their schedules, the Hurricanes and Soonersare far from sure things. Here's how the Top 10 teams in theAssociated Press's Top 25 poll scope out for the rest of theseason.

SCHOOL, RECORD BIGGEST WINREMAINING GAMESSKINNY

1. MIAMI (6-0) Florida State, 28-27

At West Virginia, at Rutgers, at Tennessee, Pitt, at Syracuse,Virginia Tech

Volunteers and Hokies pose threats, but the Hurricanes have thehorses to get back to the national championship game

Loss to Oklahoma puts the Longhorns in a big hole; to reach theBig 12 title game, they must win out and the Sooners must losetwice

9. Iowa State (6-1) Nebraska, 36-14

At Oklahoma, at Texas, Missouri, at Kansas State, at Colorado,Connecticut

Seneca Wallace has a better chance of winning the Heisman thanthe Cyclones have of getting through their brutal schedule

10. Washington State (6-1) Southern Cal, 30-27

At Arizona, Arizona State, Oregon, Washington, at UCLA

Having already lost to Ohio State, the Cougars must win the restof their games and hope that several of the seven unbeaten teamslose

THE NEXT BIG TESTS

Take a deep breath college football fans, because there areplenty more showdowns in the second half of the season. Mark yourcalendars for these defining games.

SATURDAY, IOWA STATE AT OKLAHOMAThere's no time to celebrate for the Sooners. Two weeks agoOklahoma couldn't contain a scrambling quarterback when Missourifreshman Brad Smith ran for 215 yards in a game the Tigersnarrowly lost. Iowa State quarterback Seneca Wallace (box, page48) is even more dangerous. If the Cyclones win, the two teamscould meet again in the Big 12 title game.

SATURDAY, NOTRE DAME AT AIR FORCEThis could prove to be an even bigger test for the Irish thantheir Oct. 26 visit to Florida State. The Falcons run thedifficult-to-defend triple option and lead the nation in rushing(339.1 yards per game) behind junior quarterback Chance Harridge(615 yards, 15 touchdowns). A night game in the Rockies couldspell doom for Notre Dame.

NOV. 9, OREGON AT WASHINGTON STATEIn a classic battle of quarterbacks--the Ducks' Jason Fife and theCougars' Jason Gesser--this one could be for the Pac-10 title.Question is, would an Oregon win earn the Ducks enough respect inthe eyes of poll voters to vault them past other unbeatens?Doubtful.

NOV. 23, MICHIGAN AT OHIO STATEThe Buckeyes' brash freshman tailback, Maurice Clarett, is makinghistory, but can he reverse Ohio State's fortunes against theWolverines? The Buckeyes have lost five of the last seven gamesin the series, with two of those defeats costing them a shot atthe national title. Coach Jim Tressel beat Michigan in his firstattempt last year--but with a lot less on the line.

DEC. 7, VIRGINIA TECH AT MIAMIForget the Fiesta Bowl. If these Big East powers are stillunbeaten when they meet in the regular-season finale, this gameshould be for the national title. The Hokies have the talent tohang with the Hurricanes, but speed and experience give Miami anedge.

Run for the Heisman

Sometimes all it takes is one play to propel a player intoserious Heisman Trophy contention. That happened last Saturday onIowa State quarterback Seneca Wallace's spectacular touchdown runfrom the Texas Tech 12-yard line in the third quarter of theCyclones' 31-17 victory. So while some preseason Heismanfavorites dropped by the wayside--Rex Grossman and Chris Simms, toname two--Wallace, who has completed 109 of 170 passes for 1,653yards and 10 touchdowns and rushed for five more scores, became afront-runner for the award.

Here's how Wallace's amazing scramble unfolded: "It was designedas a three-step pass play," says Iowa State offensive coordinatorSteve Brickey. "Seneca had four receivers to choose from,depending on what the defense was giving us. But the defenseplayed it well, and Seneca wisely chose not to force the ballinto coverage. At that point you want your quarterback to throwit away, but he started to move around, buying time while waitingfor a receiver to get open. Sometimes we coaches just have tolook at each other and shake our heads. He's that good."

11:50 Takes snap

11:49 Looks left, pumps, pulls ball down in face of two leaping rushers

11:48 Stutter-steps left, pumps again, sees receiver stumble;scrambles to his right across left hashmark